“That won’t change the queen’s mind. Natalia isn’t hers in any way, shape or form.”
“Not another word. Watch your girlfriend and what you say. End of conversation.”
Little shit trying to sidetrack me. I had to go see how Snake and Mira were doing. You stay too long on a job like this and someone throws a wrench into the spokes. The colonel’s terminal should bear the most fruit when Genius was done. If there was good solid intel to be had, it would be there.
“Mira, I’m on my way.”
“See you in a few. Snake is trying to make one of the operators talk. The rest are dead. I’ll be at the door.”
The door opened when I was two steps away. Mira poked her head out then held the door open. There were two bodies on the floor along with the colonel’s arm. Snake held a female from behind, his forearm across her throat. He was threatening death if she didn’t enter the code to unlock the terminal. His chokehold wasn’t close to lethal; it mainly held her in place. I think she hoped to hold out for help because her expression changed when I walked in. Help wasn’t on its way.
From where I stood, I could see the whole room. The large screens would probably show us everything in real time if we could get them up. Something nagged at me. Something had changed since the time I walked in. I had my eyes on Snake and his captive for a few seconds, then the screens. Mira was watching me, not like anyone could see my face. She hadn’t moved from the place she stood. Then it dawned on me.
“Snake, have you tried pain? Threats are getting you nowhere.” He tightened his chokehold in response. “No, don’t choke her.” I walked past Mira and stepped on the arm of the soldier lying on the floor. He grunted. Mira immediately got mad and cursed.
“This one of yours?” I asked. “You have to make sure they’re dead. Check the other one.”
I pulled the pretender off the floor and moved within a couple feet of Snake. “Mira, come here and hold this one for me.” She did as instructed, none too gently. His struggles were weak.
“Hey, Boss, Deireadh got me in. I’m downloading everything, but one thing caught my eye right off. They are attacking the Cjittan camp. If they followed their timetable, it started an hour after we left.”
“I hope to have access to the command center in a few seconds. I’ll check on the status of the operation and see if there is news. The Cjittan should have avoided capture. We haven’t heard from them, so no news is good news.”
“One more thing, Boss. The colonel will not be helping us out in the future. Zuri ate her.”
“Remind me to incorporate ‘no eating hostages unless given permission’ into her training. Guess she was hungry, though, so I say we give her a pass.”
“I’m not reprimanding anything with teeth longer than my fingers. That’s your department. You’re the one with all the pets.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Tazleaha woke to shouts and orders being barked. Dela’maah came running a second later. The area around the camp was alive with laser fire. She slept fully dressed; grabbing her weapons, she looked for the commander and the rest of her people. Zora was running toward her yelling. She took a deep breath. Seeing the Claymore in the distance, she made up her mind.
“Zora, Dela’maah, follow me with any of our people who wish to join us.”
“Where are you going? You’re standing next to a ship,” Dela’maah shouted.
Tazleaha ignored her and ran into the night. She had to get there before the crew of the Claymore departed for safer ground. Branches and plants threated to slow her progress, but not by much once her eyes adjusted to the darkness. The sky was clear and the stars provided what help they could to light her way. She ran on till she finally cleared the jungle, entering another area that had been cut. The Claymore sat in the distance. A campfire burned; the ramp was down. She could see silhouettes, some sitting, some moving around the fire.
Laser fire erupted from the jungle with the sound of ground vehicles growing nearer. Tazleaha could see the crew of the Claymore reacting. She began yelling at them and ran with all the strength she possessed. Her lungs rebelled, not wanting to give up any of the air she breathed. The crew were all aboard and the ramp was going up. She continued yelling names; she knew them all. Lorelei, Nedra, Shawna, Buddy, Grubb. She knew the others had gone with Benjamin in the night. Zora had filled her in when she woke earlier to relieve herself.
The ramp stopped and started back down with a vengeance. They had heard her. She slowed to look back. Her people were spread out, the younger out in front and the older struggling to keep up. A vehicle appeared right behind the stragglers. They seemed set on running them down instead of firing their weapon. She had failed them again. They could have boarded the transport ship and been safely away. Now they ran for their lives and would die for her selfish decision to be on Benjamin’s ship.
No, it was a good decision. The Claymore was the best choice. Still, she watched knowing there was nothing she could do. Then, as if on cue, someone took action. For a split second, the night sky glowed red as a laser ripped through the approaching vehicle. It was the first of many as the Claymore dealt red-hot death to any and all approaching Khalnalax vehicles.
“Go, run, hurry! They’re still coming,” she called as they ran past. The mayor was last and struggling. She ran to him and slipped her arm around his waist, helping him along. She had grown fond of the old man in the time they spent together. She would offer him a position in her court on Xanlos. There were bound to be some vacancies once she arrived back home. Khalnalax soldiers continued with small arms fire from a distance. A team closest to the Claymore broke from cover and made a run at her and the mayor. Two figures in armor ran down the ramp toward the approaching squad of infantry. One of them gave her a thumbs up as they fell in behind her. The other took the mayor off her hands and pulled him along after his feet couldn’t keep up. Taz looked back to see the other knelt, firing methodically.
She never saw the approaching vehicle. It fired before clearing the jungle’s edge. The laser hit where the crewman knelt, sending dirt and debris raining down. The mayor was almost to the ramp when the other crewman yelled and let him drop. He sprinted past her, charging toward the approaching soldiers, firing as he ran. Tazleaha was fixated, standing motionless, when she was tackled to the ground.
“Are you out of your mind?” a familiar voice said. “Move your ass and get on the ship.” From her position on the ground, she saw the crewman dragging the body of his partner. Her mind rebounded and she rolled away from where she lay, then was running behind the spiked, blond hair of the captain of the Claymore, Lorelei. The Claymore retaliated, destroying the vehicle even as more and more soldiers joined the force. Tazleaha and Lorelei watched from the hold, protected by its forcefield, as the second crewman went down, receiving multiple hits by the now-overwhelming numbers.
“Nedra, fire on the soldiers. I’m going after Buddy and Grubb.”
“Captain, their armor is transmitting no vitals,” Nedra answered.
“I don’t care, do you hear me? Fire on those sons of bitches and don’t stop till I tell you,” Lorelei ordered. “You, you and you. You’re coming with me.” The selected looked to Tazleaha for confirmation. “Don’t look at her; get your asses in gear or I’ll shoot you where you stand.” Tazleaha nodded to them. It wasn’t the time to start anything with the captain. The night lit up as Nedra followed her captain’s orders. Lorelei and the three men she chose ran out to her fallen comrades. They grabbed the bodies under the arms, hoisting them up and running back. A few halfhearted laser shots followed their retreat, but it was likely the enemy didn’t want to draw any more attention to themselves from the angry black ship.
“Shawna, close the ramp and get us moving,” Lorelei ordered. Tazleaha looked at the bodies lying at her feet.
“We’re on our way, Captain,” Shawna replied.
Lorelei’s com was not set on private so everyone heard her orders and the responses. Tazleaha felt her presence nex
t to her. “If you think you’re going to start giving me orders, think again. I’m not leaving without Benjamin and the others. You should take what time we have before we retrieve him and the team and figure out how we are going to tell him two of his friends, two men who were like uncles to him, are dead.”
“They were my friends, too. I will never forget the sacrifice they made this day, Lorelei. We also lost friends and comrades in our fight against the enemy. I will miss them all,” Tazleaha said softly.
“You can’t blame Queen Tazleaha for the loss of your men. Our empire has lost billions of its subjects. You have lost two,” Mayor said.
“Those two were worth more than your whole damn empire. Open your mouth again and it will be the last.” In the time it took to say, Lorelei was in his face with her pistol under his chin.
“Your Highness, better talk to her people and explain how things might go if they minimize the deaths of my crew again. Just a hint. It won’t be me who will kills you and dumps your body wherever we are at.”
“Lorelei, please be calm.”
“Captain! Could you come with me to the bridge? I would rather you make the decision of where we should land to wait for the team,” Shawna yelled from the hold entryway.
Lorelei looked at Shawna then back to Tazleaha’s people. She sighed and pulled her pistol from the mayor’s throat. Holstering it, she walked away without looking back. Shawna moved to let her pass, gave a sad smile and followed her captain.
Tazleaha began walking around the hold until she found a tarp and covered the bodies of her friends. Lorelei was right. They wouldn’t want to say anything around Benjamin that he would take the wrong way. Which meant they should say nothing at all. “Everyone listen to me. I am forbidding any talk of what happened to these two men. When the rest of the crew of this ship and its owner join us, you will remain silent. I say this to protect you.”
“Queen Tazleaha, they are no more than ten and we are fifty. We could take this ship in your name.”
“They are all seasoned warriors who have spent their lives fighting. Even as we speak, I know they are killing the enemy to help free our empire. They travel with a giant spider and now a beast I’ve never seen before. If that is not enough, there are five more ships who follow the man they call Reaper. Not that they would need them. You will all be dead in a matter of minutes. This ship will kill us with just a word from him before you could move a step in his direction.”
“The queen speaks the truth,” Zora added. “All of you need to put any ideas out of your head. You are to guard the queen. That is all you need to concern yourself with. The success we had attacking small Khalnalax camps is nothing more than a children’s game to the Privateers.”
“Sit down and relax, everyone. We have a long way to go before we are truly safe, but this ship and her crew will protect us better than most,” Tazleaha said.
****
“Genius, how much more time do you need?” I asked.
“I’m almost done.”
“Almost doesn’t cut it. We’re setting timers, need a number.”
“Two minutes.”
“Ok. I’ll be there in thirty seconds.”
“You two, finish them and set charges for eight minutes on my mark. Overkill, if you would, I don’t want anything left of this room.” I headed across the hall. Zuri yawned just as I walked in. She lay on the floor relaxed. I took a charge out of my belt and laid it on the desk.
Setting the timer for eight minutes, I waited on Genius.
“Angel to Reaper.”
“Go ahead.”
“We’ve got half a dozen squads of soldiers coming your way.”
“Copy. We are almost outta here. Go find the mantis and turn you speaker on.”
“It’s right behind me. Turning speaker on.”
“Deireadh, order the ants to attack the soldiers but be ready to retreat. Snake, change your timers to four minutes,” I fired off. Genius closed his datapad.
“All done. I think I got everything. Orders, supply recs, personal memos, troop movement plans, transport schedules. Even the operating system. I look forward to playing with it later.”
“Good job. Maybe give that other thing you been playing with a break.”
“Funny. Clearly you have me confused with Snake. Funny man.”
“Someone mention my name?” Snake said. “We’re ready.” He and Mira stepped into the room.
“So are we,” I said, changing the time and restarting the timer. “Listen up. I ordered the ants into action, so watch out. There may be a lot of them between us and the others. Let’s move. Zuri, come.” We were only seconds from our exit. Easing the door open, I could see movement in all directions. It was still dark, but in a few minutes the night would light up. The ants wasted no time and I didn’t need to see to know what was going down on the other side of the building.
“Reaper, the Claymore has come to retrieve us and is looking for a place to land,” Angel reported.
“I’ll talk to them, thanks.”
“Lorelei, don’t worry about landing, send Shawna in the shuttle. Just tell her to stay clear . . . no, wait till you see the explosion then pick us up. I’ll send coordinates.”
“Benjamin, we have passengers,” Lorelei said, her tone somber. He hadn’t heard her sound that way in a long time.
“Everyone ok?”
“Buddy and Grubb are dead.”
I stopped, immediately oblivious to everything around me except my people. The others walked on, except for Zuri. The lump in my throat threatened to choke me. I squinted and blinked to clear the tears that came unbidden, clouding my vision.
“Boss?” I heard Genius say, his tone questioning. The others stopped and looked back. I didn’t know what to say to them, so I put one foot in front of the other and hurried to meet up with the rest of the team.
“Genius, turn on your tracker and tell Shawna to find us.”
“Sure thing, Boss.”
“Angel, lock on to Genius and bring the team.”
“Copy that.”
Imelda, you are going to have to stay put. We will be back for you before we leave the star system.
I will be fine. Come back or else.
I know, you’ll eat me. It was going to be hard to tell her.
You would taste rotten.
I almost smiled. Probably so. Make your way toward the Claymore’s landing site.
Where Captain Lorelei tried to kill us all?
Yes, but please don’t say that to her. That’s where we will come to pick you up . . . Imelda, Buddy and Grubb are dead. Do not pass up any opportunities to kill our enemy, and don’t get killed. I don’t think I could handle losing anyone else. I walked three more steps before she answered.
My friends . . . I shall miss them.
I know. You spent more time with those two space dogs than any of the rest of us. We will all miss them very much.
“Shuttle’s here, Boss,” Genius said.
There will be an explosion in just about two minutes. You leave now. It’s going to become very crowded around here.
The rest of the team joined us and we ran. Shawna had the ramp halfway down before she landed. It hit the ground just as we arrived. It made me think of just how much we were all a team. She surprised everyone and me when she ran out and almost tackled me in a hug.
“Shawna, they are shooting at us now. Could you do that later?” Angel asked. My helmet fell away and I kissed Shawna’s forehead.
“Get us out of here, kiddo.”
Her eyes were bloodshot and watery. Without a word, she hustled to her seat and had us in the air.
“Leave the ramp down. I want to watch the fireworks.”
“Um, enemy firing weapons at us?” Angel asked in a what the hell tone.
“Harry, hand me my rifle.” An arm longer than my leg shot out and I snatched the rifle away. Stepping out on the ramp, there was no time lag. I pulled the trigger once, twice, three times and don’t remember aiming
. I did; the destruction on the ground proved it. Then I realized I was waiting on the rifle between shots. It wasn’t waiting on me. I was targeting faster than it could recharge and fire.
The Claymore was too far away to really enjoy the show. I could make out the ants running for the jungle and soldiers moving in mass across the battlefield. As of now, they had no communication with their navy and half their leadership on the ground was dead. They still had the numbers, but it wouldn’t matter as much now with no leadership.
I took seat two next to Shawna and tapped the comm console. “Lorelei, where is the Cjittan Commander and his soldiers?”
“They all crammed into one transport and are on the other side of the planet.”
“Once we’re aboard, take us there.”
“Queen Tazleaha has ordered us to take her to the admiral on the flagship.”
“Lorelei—”
“I’m on it, just letting you know. See you in two minutes.”
“I’m going to step in the back and tell the others.” Shawna nodded in response. “We will be on the Claymore in another minute,” I said, getting everyone’s attention. “While we were away, we lost Buddy and Grubb. I understand we have passengers aboard the Claymore, so I assume that has something to do with it.”
“What are you going to do?” Genius asked. I could see the worried look in his eyes.
“I’m gonna give the Cjittan Commander a quick lesson in guerilla warfare, then we are taking Taz to the flagship. All of you, report to Lorelei and see what you can do for her. It’s just the three of them, or two until Shawna gets back on the bridge.”
“Benjamin, why don’t you assign everyone? Lorelei may have a lot on her mind,” Ronnie suggested.
“Genius, Angel, engineering. Snake, Harry, Mira, security. I don’t know those people on my ship. Ronnie, Adam, see to our dead. I need find out if Lorelei told Binda and Natalia.”
“Are you ok?” Ronnie asked.
“No. But if you’re wondering if I’m going to go off, I’m in control.”
“That’s not exactly what I was thinking but I’m glad you’re thinking things through.”
The Chronicles of Benjamin Jaminson: Empires At War (Book 5 Part Two) Page 30
